Sealing mechanism for sashless windows



Oct. 27, 1970 MASON SEALING MECHANISM FOR SASHLESS WINDOWS Filed Oct. 11. 1968 FIG.6

INVENTOR. GORDON ARTHUR MASON WWW fir ATTORN EYS United States Patent Office 3,535,823 Patented Oct. 27, 1970 3,535,823 SEALING MECHANISM FOR SASHLESS WINDOWS Gordon Arthur Mason, 41 Lamont Ave., Agincourt, Ontario, Canada Filed Oct. 11, 1968, Ser. No. 766,756 Int. Cl. E05c 21/02 US. Cl. 49-449 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A sealing mechanism for a sashless window adapted to press the sliding pane tightly against the fixed pane at the overlap between the panes. The device is characterized by the application of non-resilient pressure as to avoid the tendency of sliding panes to be pushed inwardly away from the fixed pane at the overlap under the influence of wind forces as is the case with known pressure applicators which use a spring or other resilient element to exert the pressure.

This invention relates to the manufacture of sashless windows and is particularly concerned with a device for holding a sliding pane tightly against a closed pane at the overlap between them as to prevent the passage of air between the panes at the overlap.

As is well known, a sashless window assembly comprises a surrounding frame adapted to be mounted within a Window opening and providing channels for the mounting of a fixed pane covering approximately one-half of the opening and a sliding pane covering the other half of the opening but commonly overlapping the fixed pane by one or two inches when the sliding pane is moved into window-closing position. Ideally, closure of the sliding pane seals off the opening completely against the entry of air but this ideal has been difficult to meet in practice due to leakage of air between the panes at the overlap. The main reason for this difficulty is that it is desirable to have the two panes slightly spaced from one another when the sliding pane is being opened so as to avoid the possibility of the panes scratching one another. Contrasted with this need to space the panes slightly apart when the sliding pane is being moved is the need to have the panes pressed tightly together when the sliding pane has been moved to the closed position as to exclude any possibility of air passing between them. A previous common method of pressing the panes tightly together at the overlap when the sliding pane is in the closed position has been to employ one or two spring mechanisms working against the inside surface of the sliding pane to move it outward tightly against the fixed pane as combined with particularly designed tracks which move the sliding pane slightly inward as it is being opened, thereby depressing the spring mechanisms. Unfortunately, it has been found that these spring mechanisms are not effective against particularly strong Winds as the force of the air impinging against the sliding pane in the closed position can depress the spring sufiiciently to create an opening at the overlap between the panes whereby to permit the passage of air therethrough.

One prior attempt at overcoming the above noted difficulty with spring mechanisms is disclosed in Canadian Pat. 654,883, granted Dec. 25, 1962, to Helmer B. Nielsen, assignor to Eddy Match Company Limited. The principle of this draught excluder is to provide a movable block which moves between a fixed abutment attached to the window frame and the sliding pane where it overlaps the fixed pane. This arrangement has the advantage that it does not rely on a spring or other resilient means for maintaining pressure between the panes at the overlap. However, the device of the Nielsen patent is rather complicated considering its intended purpose which not only makes the device relatively expensive to manufacture but also renders it subject to malfunction.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a device for ensuring a tight seal at the overlap between a sliding pane and a fixed pane in a sashless window assembly.

It is a more specific object of the invention to provide a device of the type mentioned above which does not rely on spring pressure to effect the desired seal.

It is a still more specific object of the invention to provide a device of the type described which includes a partially rotating cam mechanism which is adapted to be rotated automatically as the sliding pane is opened and to be rotated automatically as the pane is closed, with the device as a whole being characterized by simplicity of construction allowing inexpensive manufacture and trouble-free operation.

The above and other objects of the invention will be more thoroughly understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof as read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings which illustrate this preferred embodiment of the invention,

FIG. I is a front elevation view of a sashless Window assembly showing the manner in which the device of the invention is installed on such a window assembly;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the device of the invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view partly broken away of a portion of the device shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the device taken along the line 44 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but showing the sliding pane in a partially open position; and

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIGS. 4 and 5 but without the glass panes.

Referring to FIG. 1, the sashless window assembly illustrated is typical of the assemblies now in common use and essentially consisting of a surrounding frame 10 holding a fixed pane 12 and a sliding pane 14. A device such as knob 16 is normally provided for the purpose of permitting grasping of the sliding pane as to move it to the left as shown in FIG. 1 whereby to open the window. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the two panes are overlapped somewhat even when the sliding pane is moved fully to the right as to completely close the window opening. It is the object of the device of this invention to maintain the two panes 12 and 14 tightly pressed together at this overlap as to exclude the entry of air between the panes when the window is fully closed.

The device of the invention is generally designated by the reference numeral 18 and is mounted on the inside of the panes by being fixed to the upper cross member of frame 10. As can be seen by reference to FIG. 2, the device would normally be fixed to the frame through the use of a pair of screws 20 which are passed upwardly through the device through a pair of appropriately placed holes 22. The device itself includes a housing 24 which may be formed of any one of a number of suitable materials by molding, forming or machining. A preferred material is cast aluminum alloy. The housing includes a bottom wall 26, a rear wall 28 and a pair of side walls 30 and 32, as well as a centrally positioned stop member 34 and a pin anchoring block 36. When the device is mounted on a window assembly as shown in FIG. 1, it essentially consists of a hollow box having an open side which is faced toward the glass panes.

Contained within the housing and pivotally attached to its lower Wall 26 is a cam mechanism generally designated by the reference numeral 40. Any suitable pivotable mounting which will permit the cam mechanism to assume the three positions shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 will suffice, but in the illustrated embodiment of the invention the cam mechanism is mounted on the stem 44 of a knob 42 to provide means whereby the cam mechanism may be manually moved as is explained in detail hereinafter. As shown, the stem 44 of knob 42 is squared and the cam mechanism 40 is provided with a mating hole whereby torque applied to the knob by ones fingers will rotate the cam mechanism as desired. A stepped washer 46 is employed between the base of the knob and the outer surface of bottom wall 26 of the housing and acts as a hearing. The top end of the stem 44 is turned over against the top surface of the cam mechanism as to lock together the assembly consisting of the knob, its stem, washer 46 and the cam mechanism.

Cam mechanism 40 includes a finger 48 and a camshaped protuberance 50. The latter is so shaped that the radius X is longer than the radius Y (FIG. 4). As can be readily appreciated, the radius X is of such a size that the pane bears against finger 48 to rotate the cam mechanism counter-clockwise, whereby the shorter radius Y of the cam protuberance 50 moves into position between the axis of rotation of the cam mechanism and the sliding pane, thereby permitting the sliding pane to move slightly away from the fixed pane as to avoid contact between the panes when the sliding pane is being opened as to avoid scratching the panes. The cam protuberance 50 is maintained in the position shown in FIG. 5 by the bearing action of the forward tip 48a of the finger 48 against the sliding pane. In the normal course, the cam mechanism is prevented from fully rotating to the position shown in FIG. 6 through the action of the return spring 52. This spring which extends between a pin 54 and a small hole 56 in the cam mechanism ensures the return of the cam mechanism to the position shown in FIG. 4 when the sliding pane has been moved fully to the right, as shown in FIG. 4, whereby to close the window opening.

The cam mechanism is also provided with a protruding detent 58 which bears against the stop member 34 under the tension of the spring 52, when the device is being stored or shipped. Thus, the cam mechanism is maintained roughly in the position in which it is shown in FIG. 4 before the device has been installed in a window assembly as a means of providing guidance for the installer.

Referring now to FIG. 6, it will be noted that the cam mechanism can be turned fully into the body of the housing by means of the knob 42 and when this is done, the line of action of the spring passes over the pivotable axis of the cam mechanism thereby holding the cam mechanism within the housing in the manner of a toggle. The object of providing this possibility of turning the cam mechanism fully into the housing is to get the cam mechanism fully out of the way of the top edge of the sliding pane whereby the pane may be more easily removed from the window assembly, as for cleaning.

As will be appreciated from the foregoing description, the device of the invention achieves the objects of both pressing the sliding pane against the fixed pane when the sliding pane is fully closed as to prevent the entry of air between the panes at their overlap while also permitting slight spacing between the panes while the sliding pane is being opened. These objects, as well as the further object of providing a simple method of allowing manual operation of the cam mechanism, are achieved in a simple and inexpensive manner through the principle of using the cam mechanism which is pivotally mounted.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A device for exerting non-resilient pressure against a sliding pane of a sashless window assembly at the overlap of the sliding pane with a fixed pane comprising, in combination, a housing adapted to be fixed to said assembly adjacent to said overlap between the sliding and fixed panes, an axle rotatably mounted in said housing and having one end extending into said housing and the other end extending out of said housing, said axle having an axis of rotation extending parallel to the faces of the window panes, a cam plate rigidly mounted on said one end of said axle which is disposed within said housing for rotation with said axle about the axis of said axle, said cam plate being formed to provide a cam surface having a diminishing radius generated from said axis of rotation of said axle, said cam surface having a first radius at one end thereof substantially equal to the distance between the inner face of the sliding pane when the latter is pressed tightly against the inner face of the fixed pane and the axis of rotation of the cam plate, and a second radius at the other end thereof which is less than said first radius, the radius of the cam surface diminishing from the first radius to the second radius, said cam plate being formed to provide a finger disposed adjacent said first radius of said cam surface and adapted to project out of the housing a sufficient distance to render the finger engageable with the forward edge of the sliding pane as the latter is advanced to its window opening position, said other end of said axle which extends outwardly from said housing being manually engageable to rotate said cam plate about said axis of rotation from a clamping position wherein the first radius portion of the cam surface presses firmly against the slidable pane, to a disengaged position wherein the cam surface is remotely disposed relative to the slidable pane, a resilient element extending from said cam plate to a fixed attachment to said housing, said resilient element being secured to said cam plate at a location which moves from one side to the other of the plane of a line drawn between the point at which the resilient element is secured to the housing and the axis of rotation of the cam plate, to cause the cam plate to be urged to the clamping position on the one hand and to the remote position on the other hand, a fixed support member on the inside of said housing and a protruding detent carried by said cam plate on the opposite side of said axle from said finger, whereby to prevent rotation of said cam mechanism beyond a predetermined position under the influence of the resilient element.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,588,432 3/1952 Tomsche 49-449 X 3,083,045 3/1963 Linderoth 49413 X 3,144,688 8/1964 Nielsen 49449 X 3,416,259 12/1968 Kogan 49-449 X REINALDO P. MACHADO, Primary Examiner P. C. KANNAN, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 292242 

